Coping strategies of people with a refugee or migration background during the COVID-19 pandemic and their association with mental health
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a period of uncertainty, inevitably affecting people's mental health, with a disproportionate impact on vulnerable populations, such as migrants and refugees. To understand what could either mitigate or protect these outcomes, this study explored strategies that refugees and migrants used to cope with the pandemic and its mental health impact. The responses of N = 16 910 refugees and migrants from the worldwide ApartTogether survey were analysed using descriptive analysis and structural equation modelling. Findings indicate that most coping strategies were, either positively or negatively, associated with refugees' and migrants' mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Coping strategies such as 'activating myself' and 'thinking something good will come from this' were associated with better mental health outcomes. Important differences between subgroups were found in the number and type of coping strategies, including displaying a higher number of coping strategies by older and female participants, while refugees and migrants living in precarious situations (e.g. being undocumented or living on street) identified less. This increased understanding of refugees' and migrants' differentiated coping behaviours creates avenues for more targeted interventions to support these groups in dealing with future stressful, widespread situations.
Authors
- Charles Watters (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7911-9642)
- An Verelst (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7178-643X)
- Natalie Durbeej (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9916-0087)
- Morten Skovdal (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2068-1814)
- Stéphanie De Maesschalck (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3249-2535)
- Fábio Botelho Guedes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8291-1921)
- Amer Shehadeh
- Maria van den Muijsenbergh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4994-4008)
- Nina Langer Primdahl (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1993-9988)
- Beatriz Padilla (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2359-3369)
- Antonio Chiarenza (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1773-5818)
- Fatumo Osman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0038-9402)
- Sara J. T. Willems (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6349-7785)
- Gésine Sturm (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6570-404X)
- Ilse Derluyn (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5450-1239)
- Rocío Garrido (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2238-0222)
- Katerina Vassilikou
- Ines Devlieger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0667-7787)
- Margarida Gaspar de Matos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2114-2350)
- Rachid Oulahal (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9120-0512)
- Eva Spiritus-Beerden (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2312-8034)
- Elisabeth Ioannidi
- Rebecca Murphy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0814-1831)
- Tessa van Loenen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6157-3935)
- Anna Sarkadi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6594-2291)
- Virginia Paloma (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0707-1982)
Institutions
- Dalarna University (SE)
- Uppsala University (SE)
- University of Copenhagen (DK)
- University of Lisbon (PT)
- Radboud University Nijmegen (NL)
- University of Sussex (GB)
- Université Fédérale de Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées (FR)
- Academy of Athens (GR)
- University of Reunion Island (RE)
- University of South Florida (US)
- Charing Cross Hospital (GB)
- Ghent University (BE)
- Azienda Sanitaria Unità Locale di Reggio Emilia (IT)
- National School of Public Health (GR)
- Community Care (US)
- Instituto de Investigação Científica Tropical (PT)
- Dublin City University (IE)
- Universidad de Sevilla (ES)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Health Education Research
- Published
- 2025-09-08
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1093/her/cyaf033
- Primary Topic
- Migration, Health and Trauma
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00